Well, it’s the end of another year of ups and downs in the agricultural industry – including poultry production. In the USA several companies have had some tough times, although there has been some good news in other parts of the world.

In terms of the WPSA, we have had a varied year, with a special edition in June devoted to the INFPD (FAO) papers, which was organised by our new president, Bob Pym. We have also seen a rise in the rating of the journal, and an increase in the number of papers being processed. As a result, there has been somewhat of a backlog from time to time – so apologies to any authors who have been caught in this.

As regarding conferences, the major conference in 2009 was probably the ESPN in Scotland, which was well attended, although overshadowed by the sad death of the key organiser, Dr Tom Acamovic, who passed away two weeks prior to the event. Our condolences go to his family. Conferences that were initiated last year went on to be repeated in 2009, and have been reported as successful. Long this may continue.

It appears that the poultry industry is going to continue in a state of transformation for the foreseeable future, due to various financial crises as well as problems with harvest quality in some parts of the world, increased legislation and so on. However, the industry is used to adapting to circumstances well, and, in many cases, is better placed to adapt and survive compared to other sectors.

An area where there are issues is in attracting young scientists into poultry science – as in general the levels of agricultural students is dwindling at universities across the world. A concerted effort to encourage students to come in poultry science and take it into the future is required, in all areas. This is something the WPSA is dedicated to achieving.

All that remains is to wish our membership success in 2010. The WPSA continues to go from strength to strength, and some excellent seminars and conferences are eagerly anticipated in the coming year.

Lucy Tucker

Editor